H69.459.2431

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Andrew J. Russell

Hydraulic Mining below Bank

1869

Stereographic collodion glass plate negative

5 HIGH x 8 WIDE x 0.1875 DEEP
(12.7 HIGH x 0.48 DEEP)

Museum Purchase

H69.459.2431

inscription: Inscribed in emulsion along top edge: "Hy[draulic Mining] from below the Bank." Inscription is partially obscured by paper tape. On paper tape, top edge: "555" written in ink and overwritten with red colored pencil followed by "Hydraulic Mining below bank." written in ink.

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History

Photograph. Title: Hydraulic Mining below bank Image Description: (s555) see Title Physical Description: Stereographic collodion glass plate negative. Sub. Cat.: Transportation -- Railroads. Remarks: listed in Sedgwick's catalogue as "Hydraulic Gold Mining below bank".

"Hydraulic Mining was common in the foothills of California in the 1860s and 1870s. High pressure hoses washed away hillsides into sluice boxes in which the gold settled to the bottom. The remaining rock and debris were washed into rivers which quickly filled up with dirt and silt. This mining technique had disasterous environmental consequences and was banned by the state in 1883. You can still see the environmental damage in the foothills of California." Remarks per Glenn Willumson for the NEA Russell Grant, July 2013 - June 2015.

This work (by Andrew J. Russell), identified by Oakland Museum of California, is free of known copyright restrictions.

Used: Union Pacific Railroad

RIGHTS AND REPRODUCTION